I thought back to the night I had been captured. The only odd event had been when my perception had altered for a moment before returning to normal. Perhaps she had affected my vision somehow. “You didn’t pick up on my magic, either. And it flared out of control a couple times within the castle.”
“I will keep it in mind,” Valek said with an icy tone. “Star’s motives for ambushing you, I understood. The surprise arrived when she and her friends also targeted the girls. I needed to know where they were taking you.”
I mulled over his explanation. “You could have helped me that night, but instead decided to wait?”
“A calculated risk. I wanted to discover the extent of her operation and why she kidnapped the girls. I had no idea you would end up across the border and in the Wannabe King’s hands.”
Valek knelt in front of me, and would have taken my hands in his had I not kept my arms crossed. Anger simmered deep within me. I had lost five days. Five days for the Fire Warper to grow stronger.
“This wouldn’t have happened at all if you told me about your meeting with Porter,” he said.
“A calculated risk. Like it or not, I’m a magician, and if there’s a way to help my colleagues I’m going to try. I wasn’t going to tell the Commander’s magician killer about it.” Still, a small, guilt-inducing thought about killing magicians being preferable to using them to increase the Fire Warper’s power pulsed in my mind.
Valek sank back onto his heels. His expression hardened into his metal mask. “Magician killer? Is that what you think of me?”
“That is one of your duties for the Commander. I know how you operate. You like to stalk your prey before you pounce. Allowing Porter’s network to continue is part of your modus operandi.”
His expression turned flat and emotionless; my anger had ruled my tongue. My fury, though, remained.
I changed the subject. “How did Star get us into Sitia?”
As if reporting to the Commander, Valek said, “Put you into crates, stacked boxes of goods on top, and dressed as traders. They had the proper papers. The border guards did a cursory check and off you went.” He paused as extreme irritation flashed through his eyes. “The border guards will be taken to task and retrained.”
Valek stood. “I was going to suggest we get a few hours’ sleep and try to rescue those girls. But since I’m the magician killer, I guess I won’t concern myself about their fate.” He left the room.
CHAPTER 25
THE LIFE DRAINED from the room after Valek’s departure. I blamed fatigue for my harsh words, but knew it was wrong. I had lost control of events the moment we crossed into Ixia. But the real truth was I had never had control. From the instant the Fire Warper stepped from the fire in the jungle, I’d been ruled by fear. Which had kept me alive, so far, but it had certainly made a mess of things. Valek was just the latest in a long list.
I sighed. There was a good reason for the fear. The Fire Warper’s power surpassed my own, and I didn’t think a bucket of water would douse him. Curling up on the couch, I made plans to free those girls. I couldn’t counter the Warper, but at least I could try to stop the Vermin from gaining more power.
But what about the next shipment of young magicians from Ixia? From what Valek told me, I guessed Star had tapped into Porter’s network, kidnapping his charges and selling those adolescents for the Vermin to use in the Kirakawa ritual.
After a few hours of restless sleep, I went to the stables. Kiki dozed in her stall, but she woke to my call.
Do you have enough energy for a trip? I asked.
Yes. Where?
Back to where you found me.
Bad smell.
Yes, but I need to go back and pick up their scent. They’ve probably moved into the plains by now.
We go fast.
That’s what I’m counting on. Not bothering to saddle her, I hopped onto her back. All I had was my bow. I glanced at the farmhouse. If I had apologized to Valek, he would have come with me, but I wasn’t ready to admit I needed to apologize. At least he would be safe for tonight.
We were soon near the border of the Avibian Plains. Evidence of the Vermin’s campsite littered the ground, and from the number of items left behind, it appeared Cahil had left in a hurry. Only a few hours of darkness remained.
Kiki, which way? I asked.
She headed south, and I let her choose her speed. She trotted until we reached the plains, then broke into her gust-of-wind gait. The air sped past my ears as the ground blurred. She didn’t maintain the pace for long, slowing when the smell of wood smoke and horses strengthened.
The Vermin’s magic waited on the plains. Unlike the Sandseeds’ net of protection, the Daviians preferred to lay traps, which would spring on the unsuspecting victim. Kiki sensed these hot spots and avoided them.
A faint glow of firelight shone through Kiki’s eyes. We stopped and I was considering my next move when Kiki reared and danced to the side. The sizzling odor of blood burned in Kiki’s nose. She would have bolted, but I steadied her with a soothing hand while my mind turned numb with shock.
They hadn’t waited for the next moon. Guilt slammed into me. I hunched over Kiki’s back, rocking with anger and frustration.
Girls hurt? Kiki asked.
Yes.
Go. Stop.
What? But she didn’t wait. She galloped toward the camp.
Kiki!
Help. Fix. She ran through the camp. Rearing and jumping as if crazed with fear.
Her sudden arrival surprised everyone. The guards scattered and dodged her flailing hooves and my bow. Kiki knocked down Cahil’s tent, kicked the wagon over and sent the horses running.
I froze in horror when I spotted the two Warpers stooped over the still forms of Liv and Kieran. Blood coated the Warpers’ arms up to their elbows. They each cradled a fist-size lump of meat in their hands, lovingly stroking the object. I gasped with recognition. They each held a human heart. Liv and Kieran’s hearts.
Kiki knocked me to my senses when she dumped me onto the ground. I gained my feet, ready for an attack, but the Warpers remained engrossed in their ritual.
Help, Kiki ordered as she made another loop of the camp.
I glanced at the fire. No Fire Warper yet. I mentally kicked myself for even worrying about him, and drew a thick strand of power. The Vermin defensive magic tried to clamp down on my connection, but I had pulled such a fat rope it failed to cut even a thread.
I launched my awareness at the Warpers. A fog of magic surrounded them. Instinctively, I knew in order for them to consume and maintain the power, they had to milk the blood from the hearts and inject it into their skin.
The Kirakawa ritual had its own power and I couldn’t interfere with the Warpers. Their black lust for magic sickened me and for a moment my vision filled with blood.
But a movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention. Liv’s ghost stood next to her dead body and she gestured to me, thumping her heart with a fist. I squinted at the apparition. Her ghost or her soul? When I understood her motions, I cursed myself for my stupidity.
I couldn’t affect the ritual, but there was one thing only I could do. Concentrating on the girls’ hearts, I reached for their souls. The ritual had trapped them within its chambers. I inhaled their essence, leaving behind dead flesh. The Warpers wouldn’t gain any power tonight.
Kiki slowed near me. I grabbed her mane and hauled myself onto her back. Within two strides she moved into her special gait.
When we reached the edge of the plains, I asked Kiki to stop so I could release the girls’ souls. The sun began to rise, casting long shadows on the ground. I wished I had known the girls better so I could make Sitian
